Website Name: The Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Message Board
Website URL: http://startrek.invisionzone.com
Website Description: “[A] place where all collectors and blog readers can share information and discuss the weekly auctions, get information, and have a good time”
Website Owner/Admin: Alec Peters
Type of Website: Online Discussion Forum
Subject Matter/Focus: Star Trek original props and wardrobe and other related areas of interest
Cost: None
Access/Membership/Participation Requirements: Must register and login to view the forum (not viewable to non-members).
Participant Overview: 169 members as of the time of this review. New and seasoned collectors alike.
Content/Functionality: Forum consists of Star Trek Auctions, Props & Costumes, Collections, and Sales (Marketplace) – all with various subforums. Also has a Private Message and E-mail system.
Presentation/Quality: The Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Message Board forum runs the popular Invision Power Board (version 2.2.2, latest version 2.2.2). It is well laid out with good moderation to keep content on topic. Good consensus of expectation among membership as to type and quality of participation and contributions.
Time in Service: Operating since May 2007.
Updates/Activity: Fairly active forum (approximately 40 posts per day).
My Experience & Personal Review:
This is a new discussion forum, just a little over one month old, and seems to be very successful thus far. There are already a number of registered users, many active participants, and a positive vibe with helpful and knowledgeable members.
The forum with the most activity is the “It’s a Wrap” subforum, with pre-auction and post-auction discussions, mirroring Alec’s Blog (also reviewed separately).
This is a very nice complement to Alec’s ongoing blog about original Star Trek props and costumes and he has done a good job of reaching out to both original prop hobbyists and Star Trek fans to put together a nice community of collectors to share information and experiences.
As with the blog, I would recommend this site to collectors of Star Trek props and costumes.
Jason De Bord